"I must indeed apologise for the long delay in replying to your kind letter, but I have been in Austria for the last two months. I am deeply appreciative of your kind words apropos my Sherlock Holmes stories. As you can imagine, it was an exciting undertaking to even attempt a continuation of the original Saga, but I felt that it had to be done under the Conan Doyle banner rather than risk that sooner or later some stranger should try to do the same thing. Working with John Dickson Carr on the first four stories was very helpful, but unfortunately my collaborator became increasingly ill and so I found myself with the alternative of either giving up the whole project or of carrying on single-handed. I decided on the latter course but I will not pretend that it was an easy task. However, a letter like yours makes it all worth while. Thank you again, yours sincerely, Adrian M. Conan Doyle".

Fo. Approx 10.75 x 8.75 inches (27.5 x 22 cms). Some staining to left margin, short edge tears and one chip to right edge. All else VG.

Adrian Conan Doyle wrote the additional Sherlock Holmes stories based on references within his father's writing to Holmes stories that had not been written. He wrote these between 1951 and 1952 and they were published as 'The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes' in 1953. Adrian Conan Doyle was the youngest of Arthur Conan Doyle's children. He had occupied himself variously as a racing driver, explorer and big-game hunter and has been described as a playboy who squandered his father's fortune in louche living. Adrian Conan Doyle was his father's literary executor and set up the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Estates office from a PO Box in Tangier, no doubt for tax reasons. The autograph of Adrian Conan Doyle is uncommon.